Though Trigger was an expert shot, it was notoriously dark and the dragon's eyes were notoriously small. The bullet, and any that followed afterwards, bounced off the craggy skin and into the shadows.

"Blah, stupid dragons," the elf thought.

---

Above...

Godspyre leaned into the face of Dovev Jermija. The older hunter had been knocked out in the scuffle earlier, and Bardent had taken the oppertunity to chain him to a wall, where he wouldn't present a problem to anyone... for now.

Trudging up the small flight of stairs, the shadow walker turned into a small room, lit with glowing squares...

"Don't you ever get tired of just sitting there?" Bardent asked, leaning against the Doctor's chair.

"Me? OF COUrse not! It's FUn seeING how people deAL with this sort of UNexPECTed situATion!"

"Right... well, hopefully that dragon'll finish 'em off before they figure out what it really is..."

Klaus swung with all his strength. The sword hit the dragon, and bounced right back. There wasn't even a noticeable scratch on the scales...

Woah! Those books were not kidding when they say dragon scales are the toughest naturally occuring stuff in the world... Klaus thought. I wouldn't want to fight with anything that wear those scales if I can...

Still, the owner of those scales is striking out in all directions, attacking the party and most likely eating them afterwards. He would have to try and overcome the scales somewhat. He positioned himself a short distance from the back and started charging, broadsword horizontal to the ground for a piercing attack...

Sybil swore as her blade snapped off. It would be expensive to replace. Perhaps other methods where best employed here. Sighing she dissolved back into the shadows and stripped off some clothhing to a thing tunic covered with pockets, searching for what she needed. Hmm, what to use....no, not that...too dangerous....ah, this might help.

She reappeared in the other's views in front of the dragon. She threw a cloud of dust into the dragon's face, careful to avoid Trigger and Klaus. Sleeping powder...let's see if this has any useful effects.

Events have taken the brave and fearless bodyguards of Mona Maelstrom from bad, to badder, to really friggin' bad.

When we last left our heroes, the Mad Doctor had done them the pleasure of trapping them in a giant cave, hundreds of feet below the surface of the continent. They unexpectedly stumbled upon a long-slumbering and lonely Cave Dragon, and as the dragon grows restless with the promise of mortal morsels nearby, our heroes realize the only way out of the cave is to fight their way out.

---

As Sybil flung her secret stash of sleeping powder at the dragon in attempts to disorient it, Klaus darted back and forth, hoping for a momentary lull in the dragonâ€™s movements that would allow him to pierce the beast with his sword. Beyond the two, near Meryle and Zakara, Trigger finished reloading and took another good look at the dragon.

As the sleeping powder connected with the cave dragonâ€™s face, it produced an Unexpected reaction. The dragon sneezed. Again. Again. And again. The powder was obviously upsetting its nasal cavities. Sybil, though the powder wasnâ€™t strong enough to put a dragon to Sleep, should still have been proud.

The huge green beast shuddered to a halt and brought its tail to its face in an attempt to scratch away the painful allergy. Klaus, thinking this might be his Only chance to do Anything, burst forward with a rush of adrenaline and tramped toward the reptile, sword pointed straight ahead.

The impact shattered the moment. Klaus, propelled by his gut instead of his head, had jammed his sword up to the hilt into the dragonâ€™s chest. It stopped sneezing long enough to let out a monstrous howl, and then begin spinning in circles, as if chasing its own tail.

Klaus frantically pulled at the sword, which was wedged so firmly in the dragonâ€™s belly. As it made a sharp spin that caused its tail to strike a wall, Klaus and sword were thrown free. He tumbled for a length and landed on his back near the small lake in the middle of the cave.

Next, Meryle shoved Trigger in the shoulder, urging him to make another attack now that Sybil and Klaus had made some impact. Closing her eyes and envisioning her own attack, Meryle summoned up a wave of lightning that seemed to flow across the roof of the cavern and collect in one spot.

â€œAdâ€™rh metâ€™yâ€™ungurhâ€¦â€

The lightening dove down like an angel from heaven, slamming against the dragonâ€™s hard skin and jostling it enough to flip it on its back. It howled again. Meryle stepped back and grabbed Zakara firmly.

â€œCome to, imp! I know the water probably messed you up, but you need to help. Youâ€™ve got more lightening in your fingertip than I can ever summon in my life!â€ She tore her eyes away to stare down the figure of Klaus, pushing himself up to a sitting position. â€œTry to help Trigger,â€ Meryle continued, not even giving Zakara a glance, â€œand Iâ€™m going to see if Klaus is okay.â€

---

"GaH! OuFF!! AHHhhH!!" could be heard from the bundle that flew from the dragon's chest... and came to a stop near the water's edge. That bundle came to a rest over at the water's edge, not moving much after the violent movements. The reason for not moving soon became apparent....

"Whoa. I'm going to be sick." Klaus said to himself as he collapsed back into a lying position, watching the room violently spin round and round and round and....

---

Meryle neared Klaus as his world spun. She tugged on his shirt, which was covered in filth from the cavern floor. She groaned. "Klaus, come to. You dork, wake up!"

She sat next to him, and set her face in an expression of impatience. Next time this group fought, they needed a real battle plan!

Trigger muttered as he charged the dragon. This was pointless, shooting it was like trying to break through a brick wall with a needle. Sure, you might pierce it eventually...assuming you had several weeks straight with nothing else to do.

At this point, he fired at the dragon just to be a distraction, loosing a round at its head, then ducking around it. He'd just have to play "really annoying bugger" for a while. It was not a role he relished, to say the least. He was silently hoping that someone ELSE had a plan. As he agily attempted to duck about the dragon, he mentally decided that what he'd do to the little psychic girl would probably get him hanged in most civilized countries...but simply put, no one would be around to care by the time they'd found her.

Trigger's projections of his tactics were dead on. His bullets ricocheted off the dragon, but as with anything moving at amazing speeds and colliding with a static object, there was a reaction. The dragon, already on a sleeping powder high, once again stumbled against the cave wall. At this point, in order to withstand the effects of the powder, it was supporting itself against the wall.

For once in her life, minus the few seconds of repulsion upon seeing Klaus vomit, Meryle was thinking clearly and straightforward. They needed a plan and soon, with several of their players already out of the battle (she considered Dovev and Zakara) there were fewer options. They'd run out of magic and bullets and knifes if they kept up this game of cat and mouse.

The cave walls shook with the padding of the dragon's feet and its occasional rampage against the walls. The young (in elf terms) sorceress made a mental note: any cavern below the surface of the planet that's existed for whoknowshowmanycenturies and is full of water may be subject to rock slides. Or a cave-in.

She was still looking for a way out. The metal panels in the ceiling could be reached by magic, she thought, but how to open them? They were thick.

This place seemed like the sort of place that wasn't meant to have an exit.

"Trigger!" shouted Meryle. "Lure the dragon toward the lake!"

She turned to Klaus. "Can you help me whip up some sort of crude energy brace? We need this beast chained up, and fast. I think I can use it to break out of here."

"Energy Brace?" Michael Klaus replied, the world still slightly spinning around him, "I can't even summon a lightbulb right now"

He then looked towards the direction of the fight, where the dragon was shaking the ground with each successive stomp. Things are definately not going to be pretty if they do not act soon, and it seem Meryle had a plan...

Okay, so maybe Klaus' extra help was only about E and X worthy, but Meryle was forming a plan on the go. In her mind, if she could lasso the dragon or something like that, she could ride it into the ceiling...

...what?

Meryle rethought her plan.

She grabbed Klaus by his cape. "I changed my mind, buddy. From now on, your name is Bait."

Whipping her hand around in a circle, Meryle wove a pair of wings out of midair and took off into the air, her arms wrapped around Klaus' waist. "Here's what will do," she stated, "I'll fly you in front of the dragon and he'll chase you, because he'll want to eat you. Good plan, no?"

In Meryle's opinion, which had been born from the stories her brother used to tell her to put her to sleep as an 'elfling,' dragons only wanted to eat, breath fire, sleep, and eat more. They were smart, her brother had told her, but not smart like elves are. It was a sort of intelligence developed without a concept of community, religion, and social life.

She imagined that a dragon would be lax to chase after strange, flying food, but would that be because it knew it looked like a trap or because it wasnâ€™t sure that Meryle and Klaus would be digested properly?

As she picked up speed, Meryle realized how much magic the night had cost her. All of her mana potions were back at the mansion (idiot, she thought) and the trials since they left had burnt out most of the mana she had stored in her body. The flight spell alone was taking its toll on her frame, and she could feel an icy numbness sliding down her arms, pressuring her to release Klaus.

â€œNoâ€¦ wayâ€¦â€ the elf grunted under her breath, â€œhe may be fat but heâ€™s one of my partnersâ€¦ in crime.â€

What crime, she thought, was she talking about? Maybe the crime of being stupid and unprepared was what she meant? That had to be a crime.

The dragon, drawn both by Klausâ€™ free flowing body and Triggerâ€™s zigzagging antics, trudged into the underground lake. It whipped waves onto the rocky shore with its huge tail. It growled, and steam escaped its lips.

Zakara stood in the middle of the lake, and as the dragon neared and towered over her, it failed to even glance at her. She stared straight ahead, into the dragonâ€™s gut, almost comatose.

Meryleâ€™s eyes exploded open, WIDE. â€œOooh, Klaus, I just had the greatest idea for a plan! And not a stupid one, like the last and current ones! A good one! A great one! If we can get Zakara to use her electrical storm, sheâ€™ll fry that dragon! Heâ€™s knee-deep in water!â€

Sybil was pleased with the dragon's reaction. She had hoped for more but had expected far less. She glanced up as Meryle and Klaus flew overhead. Seeing that Zakara was essentially sitting dragon food, she swore irritably under her breath. "I slay humans, not dragons. I am not a dragon assasin." She ran towards Zakara with the intent of snatching her out of the dragons path and then snapping her out of the seemingly coman like state she was in.

While at the same time, Klaus, aided (or more appropriately, forced) by Meryle's magic, was zipping to and fro right in front of the dragon's mouth, always tantilizing out of the dragon's reach.

With so much teeth within arm's length, no to mention the dripping saliva, the dark hole of the dragon's throat, and the hot, rotting-meat breath that came out of it, no one would fault Klaus for not following the plan. Especially a plan he did not agree to in the first place.

"AhHH!! Stay away, STAY Away!! Keep back you stupid, KEEP BACK!!" Klaus shouted while continued to get jerked around here and there, all the while waving the broadsword wildly in the intervening space between person and dragon....

Zakara didn't seem to be moving. Was she even aware of the huge lizard in front of her? Meryle cringed. This had such potential, she thought! This plan was 'the' plan, to end all plans! If only...

Magic was a strange thing. Mages and sorcerers and wizards were always inventing new spells and ways of optimizing old spells. There were countless spells. Books of them. And news ones were always appearing. So why couldn't she do what she was thinking of right now?

Her thought was blown away by the sight of Sybil, moving through the water toward Zakara as if it wasn't even there, sloshing around her legs. Meryle thought for a moment and then lashed out her arm, half-dropping Klaus, then pointed at Sybil.

"You! Go get her! Get her out of the water, tell her to leave Zakara alone. Go! Go!"

With these final words, Meryle let Klaus drop into the lake, about ten feet of dark, dirty water. "Mmm... hope he doesn't carry a grudge," she thought aloud.

(OOC: Okay, I have to admit, my bad planning and lack of foresight has resulted in an absence of Zakara, the female imp girl. Sal has gone on hiatus or whatever, so I'm forced to NPC her until she returns, to keep the RP moving. We all remember Christian quit, too, so his character is also NPCed right now, though Christian wanted him to maintain a level of dignity. I hate NPCing other people's characters, not knowing what the RPer had planned persona-wise, so I'll try not to go deep or anything.)

Klaus hit the water on his stomach, a bellyflop that would leave a mark. Following Meryle's orders as though he had no other choice, he grabbed Sybil around the waist (a bold move to pull) and flew out of the lake, propelling himself to a skidding halt on the shores, soaking wet, cloak dragging on the ground.

Meryle felt her way around the room. Her mind was her only focus, now. It was a blue ball of light. There were five other balls of light. Four green balls, each a human (or imp, or misc.) mind, and one red, large, angry ball. The dragon.

She wanted Zakara's head.

Without hesitation upon location, she dove her deepest mental magics into Zakara's nervous system. The point wasn't to take over Zakara's body. Only to set off a 'useful reaction.'

The warriors on the shore watched as the lake lit up in bold, electric blue. Meryle, hovering above the murky waters, Zakara, and the dragon all disappeared in an intense glow that forced everyone's eyes shut. There was little sound. No pressure.

Zakara's light extinguished nearly a minute later. The cavern was now pitch black.

Sybil was ploughed into and picked up, dragged off from her intended path. She was not pleased. Her rather creative invective showed it as she shook her fist at Klaus. It did appear rather threatening though as she happened to be holding one of those numerous knives in her hand. She was distracted by the light of magic in progess. As it grew brighter she rammed her knive home in it's sheath and promptly shielded her vision with a dark cloth, keeping her eyes on an indirect path so she had some idea of what was going on.

The darkness was pure, unadultered black. The black that was so black that black was sued for rights to the name, and lost.

Meryle opened her eyes to, drum roll, black. At first, she feared she'd gone blind, but then felt that her eyes were, indeed, open. Sitting up, feeling the air against her back, she rubbed her head.

"Well... that about does it for me," she murmured to herself.

The thing about the electrical storm was that Zakara had been like a living lamp, and her power must have shorted out with she used it over such a large area, on such a large creature. Klaus wasn't making light, it seemed, either.

Meryle conjured up what faint color she could. Her magic was, in less words, depleted. She could most likely hold a faint glow for a few minutes.

Meryle sighed. "I'm tapped. My 'magical faucet' is broken. You're a wizard. Make with some magic! Or someone light a match!"

After fumbling on her person, she found a matchbook, and tossed it to Trigger. Then she trotted over to the shore, where Zakara was lying facedown, and turned her over. She bent in close.

"Her breathing's shallow, but she's alive. Thank the gods."

The elf stood up and leaned against a large rock to catch her breath. A large, cold rock. A large, cold, slimy rock. With scales. She gave a sharp yelp and hopped a few feet back, staring in shock at the smoldering corpse of the cave dragon.

"Pleeeeeeeeeease be dead," she said to herself.

The cave felt as vast as ever, but at least now the heroes were unhindered in their search for a door out of this maze. She wondered, if I was a mad doctor, as mad as I was, what if I accidentally fell in this cave? I might want to build a secret hatch, JUST IN CASE.

He was mad, though.

â€œOkay, people, weâ€™re looking for anything remotely resembling a door. Probably mechanical, since this guyâ€™s a freak for that sort of thing. Or maybe some sort of magical door. Whatever. Spread out, but Sybil, I want you to keep an eye on Zakara, okay?â€

Meryle had already torn her cape so much that she knew sheâ€™d never wear it again, so she tore three strips of it and wound them around some driftwood. Each person got one, and after starting a fire next to Zakara, in the sands of the rocky shore, Meryle lit three torches. Then three tired and torn heroes wandered into the gloomy outskirts of the cave, searching for something, anything, that would let them leave this dreadful place.

Klaus went toward the northern wall of the cavern, and there a faint hiss announced to those with sharp ears that there was steaming metal nearby.

Too bad Klaus does not have sharp ears... then again, in the dark silence of the cave, even a pin dropping could be heard. Especially to someone with a new-found phobia of cold, dark, damp, enclosed places.

"What was that?" Klaus thought to himself, eyes blurry and unable to see much in details even with a torch to help "An exit?"

Desperately persuading himself what he felt was not false hope, Klaus went looking for the hiss he heard earlier, stumbling on the occasional pebble in his haste....

As always, Klaus' astute eye for Blind Luck managed to send his forehead into a close-impact meeting with the door. He pulled back, but there was a large welt between his eyebrows.

This doctor truly was mad. As Klaus' body had touched the door, a sensor within the construct sent a spark which began perpetuating a series of cogs which, in turn, began a heating process that lit up the outline of the door, and the various symbols on it.

D
O
N
O
T
E
N
T
E
R

Klaus couldn't make the letters out in the light, but he could hear Meryle and Trigger padding over to him, to see what the commotion was about. The elf girl slapped him hard on the back. "Well done, Klaus! You're not so usele-- you've done great, pal!"

She peered at the door, looking for a knob or handle. But the only thing on the door seemed to be a small rectangular panel, with several buttons, each etched with strange symbols that looked vaguely like letters but just a bit different.

Meryle sighed. Science sucked. She turned to Trigger. "What do you make of it, gun boy?"

(OOC: Sorry about that. Had serious connection issues the last few days...)

Trigger looked at it carefully, and after a moment, decided...

"It says Do Not Enter, which, in my professional opinion, has always meant 'Don't go ere, it may just may screw 'da uda guy ova. As for the buttons...I'ma thinkin that if'n we press one, somethin might happen!"

"well, clueless or not, we have to do something" Klaus said, squinting at the keypad of buttons, trying to decipher the symbols through the blurry haze of his vision "I would really much like to get out of this cave...."

Meryle led the troupe up a flight of stone steps, to a large, square landing, where two more flights of steps led upward still. Meryle decided here was good enough, and well-lit enough, to check their casualties, or whatever.

"Is everyone okay? All limbs intact? I'm sure good ol' Klaus could whip up a nice lil' Cure spell for anyone that needs it," she said, slapping him on the back playfully.

She looked at herself. Besides the need for an Entirely New Wardrobe, she was okay, plus some scratches and bruises. This was acceptable. Klaus had taken some good hits, as had Trigger. Sybil seemed unharmed, as usual, floating through the battle like a speck of dust in a strong gust of wind, perhaps untouchable.

Zakara, however. Sheâ€™d been in a state of shock when she landed in the cave, and Meryle feared that maybe the imp had gone into some sort of magical coma. She wasnâ€™t an expert on the afflicted diseases associated with magical usage. She shook her a bit. No response.

â€œOkayâ€¦ Trigger, if youâ€™re in good shape, I expect you to carry Zakara. Sheâ€™s breathing, and has a pulse, so sheâ€™s okay until I can get her real help. Letâ€™s all take one of the flights. Weâ€™re definitely not splitting up Ever Again.â€

"I am no cleric, and you guys (and girls) probably do not want to get healed by someone who couldn't control his spells properly, would you?" Klaus replied with some degree of sarcasm. "and lets look before we move, shall we?"

With that, Klaus moved to the enterences of both stairwells, carefully examining (through his somewhat still blurry vision) both for some signs of which to choose...

All his anger aside, Trigger had problems now. He had been humbled, along with everyone else in the room by a young girl who called herself Mona, despite not being Mona at all. Runes to stop magic, "Mona" to utterly break them with her psychic power.

There was a thought. If "Mona" had gone so far into Mona's head...there was now a chink in the mental armor of the young girl, but exploiting such a chink against someone who could read your every thought was difficult. A few choice words could topple the deadliest warrior, but not if the opponent knew the words before they left your mouth.

Trigger carefully adjusted Zakara...accidentally hitting her against the side of the wall would probably not be appreciated.

"Yup," Klaus agreed "And with those magic nullfying stones all over the place, magic's not going to be a very good skill to use against her......."

"Oh, and one more thing Meryle," Klaus continued "HOW MANY TIMES must I say I'M TAPPED OUT? Empty? I can't cast a speck of something right now...." and at that, the magic-nut went quiet with that depressing thought.....

Meryle looked at her feet, standing on the stairwell. "I know, I know... I just, I suppose... I-I keep hoping, deep inside, you'll have a trump card or something, Klaus."

"Truth is, I'm tapped out too. My mind-meld with Zakara leaves me dry. What I've got now," she started, pulling something shiny from her belt, "is a dagger used for skinning animals, and that's it. Not too good for fighting psychics, eh?"

She sat down on a step as Trigger unloaded Zakara and propped her against a wall. Meryle strained. This was one of those situations where she just wanted to walk away. Confrontation was something she wanted, Very Much, to avoid.

"Okay," she started, clearing her throat. "Klaus has nothing. I have nothing. Zakara's dead weight. When we reach the upper level again, we'll leave her out of harm's way. Sybil's still in good shape, right gal? So this plan will have to be based more on strategy than firepower, since our only weapons are knives and bullets, unless you've got more than knives, Sybil?"

â€œAnyway, I volunteer myself and Klaus as diversions. We can assume, from previous knowledge, that the only people up there who pose a threat to us are the little girl and Bardent Godspyre. The â€˜Mad Doctorâ€™ seems simply to stand around and talk funny, so he probably wonâ€™t help the others. Klaus and I will draw Bardent into an open area, where we can all strike at once. Sybil, I imagine youâ€™re better in close combat, right? If youâ€™d rather have him all to yourself, thatâ€™s a good plan too. I trust your skills.â€

â€œTrigger, I know this might be hard to do, seeing as how anyoneâ€™s morals would Never allow it, but youâ€¦ have to kill the girl. I remember the lab, there arenâ€™t any runes, and itâ€™s just you and her. We were unprepared earlierâ€¦ psychics are Not infallible. She may be enhanced by the doctorâ€™s â€˜science,â€™ but sheâ€™s still a little girl, and her mind could not have Possibly developed enough to make her an unbeatable mind. You just have to concentrate on something, anything, and form a Brick Wall around your head. Donâ€™t let her in. Think about your objective and nothing else. Thatâ€™s your only chance.â€

Meryle sighed, coughed a few times, and shut her eyes. â€œSoâ€¦ what do all of you think?â€

He then said, "Nah Meryle, I don't really want to kill a little girl...buuut I know one ting she can't possibly handle. She went too fah into Mona's mind...aaaand now she'sa gonna pay."

The only question, was just how far in she went before or after Mona was bewitched by Bardent. It wouldn't be much fun for Bardent if little psychic girl was hugging his legs the whole time trying to kiss him.

Now was the time. They'd make their Last Stand, and whatever happened, would happen.

"Trigger, Klaus, Sybil, I'm glad I have all of you watching my back. Otherwise this would be impossible to do."

They trudged up another two flights, twisting in a giant circle, until they reached a dead end. She stood and stared intently at the large stone slab that represented the door to their enemies beyond. She was full of sadness. So much had gone wrong. She felt that there was still hope for the Real Mona. There was no Rage left. Only Undying Hope for the girl's survival, and their own survival.

With a deep breath, Meryle grabbed a thick oak handle and pulled it left. The stone slid on a deep trough and slammed open to reveal...

...a room. A very strange room, full of annoying buzzing and hissing noises, and various small-but-intricate-looking metal contraptions. Meryle entered slowly, followed by the others, and Trigger set Zakara's unconscious body on a chair, her hands inherently forming a pillow for her head as it came to rest on the table in front of her.

The four examined the room. Meryle spoke first. "Seems to be another laboratory. There's a bed over there, and... you think this might be the Mad Doctor's room or something?"

~~~

In the main lab, the Mad Doctor toiled tirelessly over Mona, and the strange device fitted to her head.

"ThOSe fools! JusT BY BEing here, they comPROMISED THe entire projeCT!!! NOw I have to run TESts all over agAIn, to be SUre I'm readY!"

Well, this is the last test, isn't it? There should be no problems after this...

Bardent looked up at the ceiling. The room had a very high ceiling, and a large skylight that consisted of two wooden doors that had been propped open earlier...

...Mona the Psychic sat in another corner of the room, stitching together the remains of various dolls Bardent had acquired for her over the time since her rebirth.

The black-clad beast sniffed the air. I always get nervous at times like this--

The Mad Doctor and Barden Godspyre both paused.

"DId yoU HEAr somethING?"

Sounded like a door opening, maybe. I don't like this. It came from the chamber we're using for storage.

"WeLL, muSt be a MALIfuctiON with the HEAter, then. Nothing elSE's up there--"